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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    A Blind Man, International Diplomacy and China's Political Struggles

    As we begin this program, there are more questions than answers about the blind Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in Shandong Province and was smuggled into the US Embassy in Beijing. Chen Guangcheng says he's grateful to the US, but that China reneged on agreements that led him to leave the embassy after six days.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    As we begin this program, there are more questions than answers about the blind Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in Shandong Province and was smuggled into the US Embassy in Beijing. Chen Guangcheng says he's grateful to the US, but that China reneged on agreements that led him to leave the embassy after six days. Is he being treated well at a Chinese hospital? Will he, his wife, two children and relatives back home be subject to retaliation? Will Chen be allowed to come to the US, where he has reportedly been offered a fellowship? As she wrapped up two days of high-level trade and security talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was cautiously optimistic. But likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called reports of the embassy's mishandling of the case, a "day of shame" for the Obama Administration. We hear from a reporter who's talked to Chen and get the latest on the Obama Administration's handling of the affair.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    China, the US and the Fate of Blind Dissident Chen Guangcheng
    1. 0:00Disappointing Jobs Numbers
    2. 7:35A Blind Man, International Diplomacy and China's Political StrugglesYou’re reading this
    3. 42:00The Kentucky Derby, the Most Exciting Two Minute in Sports
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

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      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

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      Lata Pandya

      Assistant Producer, To the Point/Which Way, LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Keith Richburg

      Harvard's Kennedy School of Government

    • KCRW placeholder

      Adam Minter

      author of the book “"Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

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      Jeffrey Wasserstrom

      University of California, Irvine

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    China, the US and the Fate of Blind Dissident Chen Guangcheng
    1. 0:00Disappointing Jobs Numbers
    2. 7:35A Blind Man, International Diplomacy and China's Political StrugglesYou’re reading this
    3. 42:00The Kentucky Derby, the Most Exciting Two Minute in Sports
    Back to To the Point